And anyone else whom Kliff Kingsbury decided to make his victim on this night.

How Tech's opponents fared

OHIO STATE def. Illinois 23-16 (OT)

SMU def. UTEP 42-35

OLE MISS was idle

N.C. STATE lost to Virginia 14-9

NEW MEXICO def. BYU 20-16

TEXAS A&M lost to Missouri 33-27 (OT)

IOWA STATE lost to Colorado 41-27

MISSOURI def. Texas A&M 33-27 (OT)

COLORADO def. Iowa State 41-27

BAYLOR lost to Oklahoma 49-9

OKLAHOMA STATE def. Kansas 55-20

Texas Tech def. TEXAS 42-38

Nov. 23 OKLAHOMA def. Baylor 49-9

Kingsbury bisected, dissected and trisected the UT defense to the tune of 473 yards and six touchdowns in an historic 42-38 Big 12 win for Texas Tech, which might have just bought the Red Raiders a reprieve from the Humanitarian Bowl.

But that's another story.

The bigger event happened on a cool evening in Jones SBC Stadium where Tech rallied from an early 14-point deficit for maybe its most meaningful win ever in front of 52,047 fans.

The victory not only came against the Big 12 heavyweight Longhorns, but also against the highest-ranked opponent Tech has ever beaten.

And those in the visiting locker room offered no excuses, only praise.

"We tried a lot of different things, but nothing worked," UT defensive coordinator Carl Reese said. "We mixed man and zone packages, but he (Kingsbury) had an answer for everything. We had six-man pressure, five-man pressure and times where we rushed three.

"That's a credit to him and their coaching staff. The difference in the game was their quarterback. He throws a good, crisp ball. We just have to lick our wounds and reload."

Longhorn senior defensive end Cory Redding found it frustrating that the Texas defense couldn't stop Kingsbury, who completed 38 of 60 passes without an interception.

"The best team came away with the victory," Redding said. "We gave it our best for four quarters. They were just a little better. Kingsbury stepped up the whole game.

"Being up 14-0 was not a big thing. Kingsbury used his feet as well as his arm. Texas Tech has got players that make big plays and that's what it's all about."

Longhorn head coach Mack Brown was a little more direct.

"They played as good as I've seen them play," Brown said. "It was a great college football game and two great quarterbacks. I'm disappointed for the kids more than anything.

"It wasn't the things we did that cost us this game as much as the things they did to us. We've got to get ready to play A&M in two weeks. We're disappointed, but there are a lot of teams that would like to be 9-2."

UT quarterback Chris Simms, who's endured his share of heartbreaking losses, added another one to the list.

"It's up there, but every loss is tough," Simms said. "We knew they could quick-strike. They've moved the ball on pretty much everybody. When you're on the sidelines and they're doing that, you feel helpless."

Kingsbury, a dark-horse Heisman candidate who improved his stock with this game, could improve his chances even more with a solid performance next week at Oklahoma.

"He whipped everything we threw at him," Brown said. "He was the difference in the game."